(Texas Scorecard) – UT-Austin is attempting to conceal faculty communications related to governance reforms.
At issue are changes to “core curricula” that are expected to result from the passage of Senate Bill 37 during the regular legislative session. This measure changes several aspects of university administration, including granting additional oversight authority over mandatory courses to boards of regents.
In universities, the phrase “core curricula” describes a set of requirements students must complete regardless of major. Typically, these classes comprise about a third of a student’s undergraduate coursework.
Authors Jason Brennan and Phil Magness have criticized these mandates as a subsidy for economically unsustainable programs.
In late July, the far-left Austin Chronicle published an interview with Karma Chavez, who chairs UT-Austin’s Mexican American and Latina/o Studies department. She’s also the Bobby and Sherri Patton Professor of Mexican American and Latina/o Studies.
Chavez authored a book entitled “Queer and Trans Migrations: Dynamics of Illegalization, Detention, and Deportation.”
“Those of us in the College of Liberal Arts – especially ethnic and gender studies, American studies, those kinds of things – our classes are not going to be allowed in the core curriculum,” Chávez told the Chronicle.
“They’re trying to make it so that no one takes our classes,” Chavez continued. “And then what they’re going to do is say, ‘Well, no one takes your classes, so now we’re going to slash your budget.’ It’ll be a death by a thousand cuts.”
On July 24, following publication of the Chronicle article, Texas Scorecard submitted an open records request to UT-Austin for “All emails containing the keyphrase ‘core curriculum’” from Chavez between January 1 and July 24, 2025.
On September 2, UT-Austin’s parent body, the University of Texas System, sought a ruling from the attorney general’s office to withhold part of the information responsive to our request. The university stated it would release the rest no later than September 9.
In her brief to the attorney general’s office, the associate general counsel for the UT System argues that “the responsive documents have applicable exceptions to disclosure. Specifically, we reserve sections 552.104; and 552.111 of the Texas Government Code.”
The university has yet to submit a detailed brief to the attorney general’s office. Texas Government Code section 552.104 details exemptions related to competitive bidding, while section 552.111 discusses exemptions related to agency memoranda.
The University of Texas System is overseen by a board of regents that is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Texas Senate.